considering that Chandra had tears rolling down her cheeks, Luella was wringing her hands, and I was close to losing it. “None of that means a thing. Facts are just facts, and facts help Hank build a timeline. You know, so he can figure out where Noreen went when she left here. I just assumed she came back to the B and B.”
“You mean that’s where she was killed?”
I hadn’t even considered it, so Chandra’s question gave me an extra-special case of the creeps. I twitched it away with a shake. “I think someone would have noticed,” I said. “My cleaning people were in this morning and they didn’t say anything about blood. The way Noreen looked . . .” The memory washed over me and left me cold. “Wherever she was killed, there must have been a whole lot of blood.”
I was already edgy enough; this was not something I wanted to think about. It was better to stay focused, stay centered, stay objective. I tried. “You have nothing to worry about,” I told Kate. “Before Hank can make an arrest, he needs proof. You might have been mad at Noreen. Nobody can blame you. But before Hank can say you did it, he needs to prove you had means, motive, and opportunity.”
“Means.” Kate nodded, and her complexion turned green. “I heard her head was bashed in. Anybody could have done that, I guess. With anything. A rock. Or a bat. Or a brick. Or a—”
“We get it,” Luella told her.
Kate nodded again, and paced some more. Faster. Harder. Her heels banged against the floor. “Motive. Okay, yeah, I admit that part. I did have motive. Last year’s destruction, for one thing. And this year, with her coming here without my permission. I guess so-angry-my-head-was-going-to-pop-off is a legitimate motive. But don’t forget, there have to be a bunch of other people who have motives, too. There can’t be anyone anywhere who actually liked Noreen. She was pushy and rude and—”
“And compulsive and ornery and bossy,” I added. “I’ve already got a short list of the people who didn’t like her. We’ll check out each and every one of them.”
The nods were coming faster, and Kate’s left eye twitched. She swallowed hard. “Opportunity. Well, we know I couldn’t have done it, Bea. We left here, and I drove you home, and—”
“And when I got home, EGG was back,” I said. “At least, all their trucks were. I didn’t see any of them; I figured they’d all gone to bed. And I didn’t stick around for breakfast this morning. I guess Noreen missed it.”
“Well, I can vouch for Fiona,” Chandra said, and nodded. “She was in her room listening to a CD of Tibetan monks chanting. You know, while she did her meditation.”
Frustrated, I twirled a wayward strand of my unruly hair. “I wish I’d been paying more attention,” I mumbled. “I wonder if Noreen came home with everyone else.”
“Well, I went home and stayed home.” Kate crossed her arms over her navy sweater. “I was so mad, I couldn’t see straight. I had a little glass of sherry to calm my nerves and I went right to bed. I didn’t work today. I stayed home and enjoyed the day, just like I told all my employees to do.”
“That’s all you need to tell Hank.” In the hope of calming her down, I made eye contact with Kate and refused to look away. “Just the truth. And when he talks to me—and I’m sure he’ll get around to it eventually—I’ll tell him I was with you as soon as you got back from the mainland. I was with you the whole time you were here at the winery, too, and Noreen and her bunch left here before we did. I’ll tell him you dropped me off at home after we left here last night. Then you went home and went to bed. You never had the chance to murder Noreen. Hank will see that. He’ll believe it. He’ll—”
“He’ll slap the cuffs on me and throw me in jail forever and ever!” Kate wailed.
Sure, she was being a little melodramatic, but hey, it’s not like I could blame her. It can’t be easy
“You mean that’s where she was killed?”
I hadn’t even considered it, so Chandra’s question gave me an extra-special case of the creeps. I twitched it away with a shake. “I think someone would have noticed,” I said. “My cleaning people were in this morning and they didn’t say anything about blood. The way Noreen looked . . .” The memory washed over me and left me cold. “Wherever she was killed, there must have been a whole lot of blood.”
I was already edgy enough; this was not something I wanted to think about. It was better to stay focused, stay centered, stay objective. I tried. “You have nothing to worry about,” I told Kate. “Before Hank can make an arrest, he needs proof. You might have been mad at Noreen. Nobody can blame you. But before Hank can say you did it, he needs to prove you had means, motive, and opportunity.”
“Means.” Kate nodded, and her complexion turned green. “I heard her head was bashed in. Anybody could have done that, I guess. With anything. A rock. Or a bat. Or a brick. Or a—”
“We get it,” Luella told her.
Kate nodded again, and paced some more. Faster. Harder. Her heels banged against the floor. “Motive. Okay, yeah, I admit that part. I did have motive. Last year’s destruction, for one thing. And this year, with her coming here without my permission. I guess so-angry-my-head-was-going-to-pop-off is a legitimate motive. But don’t forget, there have to be a bunch of other people who have motives, too. There can’t be anyone anywhere who actually liked Noreen. She was pushy and rude and—”
“And compulsive and ornery and bossy,” I added. “I’ve already got a short list of the people who didn’t like her. We’ll check out each and every one of them.”
The nods were coming faster, and Kate’s left eye twitched. She swallowed hard. “Opportunity. Well, we know I couldn’t have done it, Bea. We left here, and I drove you home, and—”
“And when I got home, EGG was back,” I said. “At least, all their trucks were. I didn’t see any of them; I figured they’d all gone to bed. And I didn’t stick around for breakfast this morning. I guess Noreen missed it.”
“Well, I can vouch for Fiona,” Chandra said, and nodded. “She was in her room listening to a CD of Tibetan monks chanting. You know, while she did her meditation.”
Frustrated, I twirled a wayward strand of my unruly hair. “I wish I’d been paying more attention,” I mumbled. “I wonder if Noreen came home with everyone else.”
“Well, I went home and stayed home.” Kate crossed her arms over her navy sweater. “I was so mad, I couldn’t see straight. I had a little glass of sherry to calm my nerves and I went right to bed. I didn’t work today. I stayed home and enjoyed the day, just like I told all my employees to do.”
“That’s all you need to tell Hank.” In the hope of calming her down, I made eye contact with Kate and refused to look away. “Just the truth. And when he talks to me—and I’m sure he’ll get around to it eventually—I’ll tell him I was with you as soon as you got back from the mainland. I was with you the whole time you were here at the winery, too, and Noreen and her bunch left here before we did. I’ll tell him you dropped me off at home after we left here last night. Then you went home and went to bed. You never had the chance to murder Noreen. Hank will see that. He’ll believe it. He’ll—”
“He’ll slap the cuffs on me and throw me in jail forever and ever!” Kate wailed.
Sure, she was being a little melodramatic, but hey, it’s not like I could blame her. It can’t be easy
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